Throughout 2020, many salons turned to SMS to keep their clients updated on lockdowns, re-openings and everything in between. It was inexpensive and it was effective.
Now that SMS has become a regular part of our marketing, it’s time for salon owners to take a closer look at their communications strategies, making sure they’re optimised for the year ahead.
Get personal
A study by Wunderman found 79 per cent of consumers said brands need to demonstrate they understand and care about them, before they consider a purchase. In a social-media age of instant gratification, nobody wants to feel like one of the masses – people want to feel special and that businesses value them specifically as a customer. This is why personalisation in customer communication is so important.
Make it two-way
Personalising SMS messages for your customer base is a positive way to grab attention and build rapport, but you can take it one step further and engage in meaningful conversation with customers, which will strengthen long-term relationships. Two-way SMS services are an effective way to achieve this.
“This is especially effective in the beauty salon business,” says marketing expert Mary-anne Delman. “A simple SMS, using the customer’s name and asking how their skin is responding to a recent, specific treatment, will make that client feel important and valuable, especially when they have the option to share their concerns and receive an informative response from you.”
Be reliable
Consistent and effective messages will help cultivate trust with customers. But don’t overdo it, warns Marry-anne. “Saturating someone’s inbox with texts is a sure way to have them search for the ‘unsubcribe’ option. But regula, weekly updates can be well received, especially when the content is relevant to that particular person. On that note, make sure you are sending specific clients relevant texts. Sending a menopausal woman a text promoting pregnancy massage likely won’t go down well.”
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